Ex-Maverick Delonte West: 'Everywhere I look, the joke is on me'

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Brad Loper/Staff Photographer

Mavericks guard Delonte West reacts after injuring his hand trying to make a steal in a game against the Denver Nuggets on Feb. 12, 2012. The brutally dislocated and broken finger cost West a month of the season.

Published: 22 July 2013 11:52 PM

Updated: 22 July 2013 11:52 PM

After initially refusing a spot on the D-League’s Texas
Legends because the Dallas Mavericks made it clear that they were not going to
bring him up, Delonte West accepted the spot and averaged 10.3 points per game.

But that hasn’t led to another shot in the NBA, something
West is eagerly hoping for.

After all, basketball is not just some game to a guy like
West, who was released by the Mavs for disciplinary reason and arrested for
carrying two handguns, a shotgun, and a bowie knife.

“My whole life the court is the one place where people couldn’t laugh at
my skin complexion, or the birthmark on my face or the red hair,” West told
SLAM Magazine. “When I played basketball, because I worked so hard, it’s always
been the one place where people couldn’t laugh at me.

“All of a sudden the laughter is now coming from the
mainstream,” continues West. “Everywhere I look, the joke is on me.”

If he hasn’t hit rock bottom, he’s pretty close. West doesn’t
even want his son to share the same name as him.

“My son is due in a week,” West said.
“Everybody I know wants me to name my son Delonte Jr. I’m not, though. In
today’s world, my son doesn’t need to go to school and get laughed at because
of things his father did.”

If he can get his mind right and stay focused, West could help
out a contender like the Miami Heat or the Indiana Pacers. He has a lot of
convincing to do, but everybody deserves a second chance.

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